Alchemist I Thought Archivist
by Caz251
Summary: Summary: Ianto Jones' life and that of his wife changed when they needed to leave the wizarding world, becoming Ianto Jones was just that change. Written for cliche bingo prompt pre-canon fic. Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Torchwood.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Alchemist I Thought Archivist  
><strong>Author:<strong> caz251  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> Harry Potter/Torchwood  
><strong>Rating: <strong>Pg  
><strong>CharacterPairing:** Ianto Jones [Nicholas Flamel], mentions of Perenelle Flamel.  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I do not own Harry Potter or Torchwood.  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Ianto Jones' life and that of his wife changed when they needed to leave the wizarding world, becoming Ianto Jones was just that change.

**Spoilers:** For Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

**AN:** Written for cliche_bingo **Prompt:** Pre-canon fic

Ianto Alec Jones stared around the building that the muggles referred to as Canary Wharf. It was a lot different from what he was used to in the Wizarding World, in his world there was no technology, but this place was full of it. At one point he had been sure that he would never understand how all the technology worked despite his understanding of muggles. This latest adventure had allowed him the opportunity to learn. A wizard once said that death was the next great adventure and he was right.

Ianto Alec was a good adventure, a life after death. He and his wife had both given up their lives when it was no longer safe to live in the Wizarding World. No-one knew that they were still alive and living new existences as nobody knew of the extent of their work with the elixir of life or the true story of the stone. The philosopher's stone, with its ability to create gold and the elixir of life, was never destroyed and the elixir was a lot more powerful than many knew.

He and his wife Perenelle had spent decades experimenting with the elixir and had found several different uses for it. The most valuable find had been how well the elixir reacted with de-aging potions. A de-aging potion would temporarily transform a person into a younger body; how young and how long depended on the potion itself and the strength of the potion. However with the elixir of life in the potion the transformation was permanent in that the person wouldn't revert back to their original age. The person would need to grow up all over again. It was an amazing discovery, after all who wants immortality without youth.

He and Perenelle had taken enough elixir to de-age them back into ten year olds and had separated from each other, disappearing into the muggle world. He wasn't sure how life had been for her in the years that they had been apart, but that was part of a relationship, finding out about your partner, their likes and dislikes. He had followed her to Canary Wharf, they had put in place many safeguards so that they could easily find each other again, as unlike with a soul mate they had no strong links between them. The marriage bond they had shattered the moment that they de-aged past the age that they were bonded. He was sure that a wizard or witch for that matter, had never thought of a de-aging potion to get them out of an unbreakable bond, but it had worked for them.

Perenelle had been working within Canary Wharf for six months now, and Ianto thought that it was about time that he made his entrance and found employment there himself. He would have thought it mad before; even the possibility of aliens, there were many things out there that even magic couldn't explain, but his first choice to explain them wouldn't have been aliens. Now though he knew differently, using friendships he had made throughout his time as Nicholas Flamel he had managed to gain access to a vast amount of knowledge, something that the Gringotts Goblins had been remarkably handy for, he couldn't really go up to one of his acquaintances as he was and ask for information.

Ianto was ready now though, he had collected as much information as he could and had an interview set up with a recruiter for Torchwood. He was applying for a post as a junior researcher, something that he was sure that he could do in his sleep; he had been doing research for centuries, and had always kept up with the improvements and developments within the areas of research that interested him. This area was one that was completely foreign and new to him, and he was eager to learn more about it and get fully involved. He knew once he was in the company he would have to watch out for himself, he may have de-aged himself, but his magic was far from dormant. While he had attended Hogwarts he also had a full muggle education, his adoptive parents having insisted upon it. He just hoped that Torchwood didn't look too deeply within his files. Although he was sure that his files were watertight he didn't want to take any chances, not if it meant he may end up being dissected or tortured, you never could be sure what these research institutes would deem appropriate measures to understand him or punish him for betrayal. He knew that it would be much harder to find Perenelle as well if he was locked up in some cell somewhere.

He needn't have worried though, his interview had gone well, and he was easily the best candidate for the position in personality. He was now the newest junior researcher for Torchwood London, although he was also specialising in archives work as well, what better way to research something than first reading all the previous research. Now as he looked around the sharp, crisp building he couldn't help but wonder if he would need to emulate the environment. Everything was so professional, he could almost feel the starch in the walls, he supposed that he would need to buy a few more suits, just to fit in with everyone else. There were a mass of people that worked for the Institute and he wondered how long it would take for him to find Perenelle among them, and then how long before he could get to know whoever it was that she had become. It would be suspicious if he immediately started to date a woman he had just met, especially within such an organisation as Torchwood, he would have to take his time and let things develop naturally. Perenelle was worth the wait though, he had already waited ten years for them to be reunited, he could wait a little longer.


	2. Chapter 2

Ianto Jones had been working for the Torchwood Institute in London for a month before he managed to catch sight of his Perenelle, and even then it had only been from a distance. He had however managed to get a name for her, he now knew who she was and how to contact her. He didn't contact her though, not right away, he made a show of being nervous to approach her all the while gathering as much information from her through the office gossip that permeated even an institute like Torchwood. He had been with Torchwood for two and a half months before he approached Lisa Hallet to ask her out for coffee, a treat which they had both enjoyed, and to his relief she accepted. He had been worried that she may not recognise him, or that she may not want to be with him anymore. He knew that she loved him, and that she always would, but he couldn't say that they were in love with each other, not any more anyway.

The average witch or wizard would live to maybe one hundred and twenty, those with more power living longer, and they would probably spend about a century of that time bonded to one person, he and Perenelle on the other hand had spent over six centuries together. He was sure that if many witches and wizards fell out of love in one century that it would not be seen as to weird after six. However, although he wasn't in love with Perenelle, she was his best friend and always would be, she had been with him through almost all his high and low points in his life, and he would not throw that away. There was also the fact that they were not the same people that they had been when they parted ten years ago, they had both led different lives, and for all he knew they could fall in love with each other all over again.

Their first date was just a quick trip to a coffee shop one lunchtime, something that he was congratulated on and teased mercilessly for by his co-workers. It was an amazing trip for him though, he was right in thinking that the spark that had existed between them all those centuries ago when they first met wasn't present between them anymore, but they still had their friendship. They met up a few times that month to keep up the appearance of a couple of people starting to date and get to know each other, which is exactly what they were doing, but without the romantic side of things. Ianto was enjoying hearing about what Lisa had been up to for the last decade and was heartened to know that she had had an easy life. She had been adopted by a family who travelled the world almost constantly looking for knowledge, a wizarding family that had no problems with her being a witch. They had shown her many different places around the world during her summer holidays, trying to let her soak up as much knowledge as possible, even in her breaks from school. She may have already been to those places and learnt the magics of the people, but that wasn't to say that she hadn't enjoyed herself or learnt something, even if it was just a refresher course for her. She had been lucky to be sent to Beauxbatons though, knowing French fluently would have helped her greatly there, and it was the pre-eminent school for turning out well-polished young witches.

He on the other hand had gone to Hogwarts and had been subjected to a slew of incompetent defence professors year after year. His first year wasn't too bad, he had been taught by Remus Lupin that year, a werewolf who had a knack for teaching children and the subject, but the years after that had been a nightmare and inconsistent. He also had to deal with the loss of a friend without being able to do anything about it or even grieve properly, after all he was just a fourth year Ravenclaw muggleborn, he had no real link to the Headmaster. He had attended Albus' funeral though and he knew that Fawkes was watching over the old an. He was glad that Perenelle or rather Lisa had been out of Britain during the war, he wouldn't have liked to have thought of her being anywhere near the madman that was Voldemort.

They spent the time that their co-workers thought they were dating catching up on each other's lives and making plans for the future, neither of them really having any major plans, but Lisa's adoptive parents were on the lookout for a suitable husband for her. While Ianto wasn't convinced about the idea, he had always believed that marriage should be a choice not a command, he knew that Lisa was willing to follow her parent's demands if they made a suitable selection of husband for her. It was for this reason that she had dated no-one within Torchwood, the fact that he was the first wizard among them that she knew of, being a secondary reason. This unwillingness to date had seen her gain the reputation of an Ice Queen, and Ianto when she had accepted his invitation for a date had almost become an instant legend due to his ability to get through to her.

It was decided between them that they would continue to 'date' even going so far as to move in together, which would give Lisa some peace from the people who had decided that she needed a date. The arrangement worked well for them both, sharing one flat and bills meant that they had more money each month as neither of them wanted to dip into the savings that they had accumulated over the years and that the Gringotts goblins held in trust for them. Lisa although she was living on her adoptive parents money was trying to save as much money while living to the extravagant means that she was used to. They had both lived rather opulent lives before they had de-aged themselves and it was a hard habit to break. The best part of living together though was experiencing new things together like they always had. They may not be in love or married like they once had been, but that didn't stop them from spending time together, almost like a married couple. They went to shows together, tried out clubs, and spent many a free weekend emerging themselves in the muggle culture that surrounded them.

Things had been going amazingly well between them until the ghosts started to appear, and not any sort of ghost that they knew of, if it had been regular ghosts or even poltergeists they could deal with them. The metal men that had arrived though, they were something different, something foreign, and not of this world. Neither of them had been prepared for the arrival of what came through the gap between the worlds, or for what would occur when they did arrive. What occurred could only be called devastation, and Ianto was left to pick up the pieces after the destruction of Torchwood, trying all that he could to fix things and put them back the way that they were, but no de-aging potion could solve what had been done to Lisa; he wasn't even sure if magic could.


End file.
